''240-Robert'' is an American

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

television series that ran on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

from August 28, 1979, to March 21, 1981. The series title is a reference to the call-sign designation for the

Los Angeles Sheriff's Department The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), officially the County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, is a law enforcement agency serving Los Angeles County, California. LASD is the largest sheriff, sheriff's department in the United ...

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

paramedic A paramedic is a healthcare professional trained in the medical model, whose main role has historically been to respond to emergency calls for medical help outside of a hospital. Paramedics work as part of the emergency medical services (EMS), ...

teams.

Synopsis

The series chronicles the missions of "240-Robert", a specialized unit of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), that utilized

four wheel drive The Four Wheel Drive Auto Company, more often known as Four Wheel Drive (FWD), was a pioneering American company that developed and produced all-wheel drive vehicles. It was founded in 1909 in Clintonville, Wisconsin, as the Badger Four-Wheel Dr ...

vehicles and a helicopter. Most of the assignments were sea/air/land search and rescue operations in the extensive (over ) jurisdiction. The show's creator was

Rick Rosner Richard Rosner (born c. 1941) is an American television producer best known for creating the television show ''CHiPs''.Staff report (September 15, 1977). CHiPs Debuts on NBC. He's also famous for being related to the one and only, Mark Rosner, ...

(himself an LASD reserve deputy), who created the hit series ''

CHiPs ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. After the final first-run telecast on NBC in May 1983, the series went into reruns on Sundays fr ...

'' two years earlier for

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

. The vehicles used at that time were 1979

Ford Bronco The Ford Bronco is a model line of SUV, SUVs manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company, Ford. The first SUV model developed by the company, five generations of the Bronco were sold from the 1966 to 1996 model years. A sixth generation of ...

s, while the helicopter was a Hughes HA-500C (similar in design to the current MD 500). The series was based on real life cases encountered by the LASD's Emergency Services Detail. The real life ESD is actually headquartered in

East Los Angeles East Los Angeles (), or East L.A., is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) situated within Los Angeles County, California, United States. According to the United States Census Bureau, East Los Angeles is designated as ...

. Rick Rosner took artistic liberty and portrayed the headquarters as a beach-side station. The actual filming location was at a State of California ranger station located at Sycamore Cove in

Ventura County, California Ventura County () is a County (United States), county located in Southern California, the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, Ca ...

. The series was inspired, in part, on the experiences of Officer Charles Thibaudeau of the Hermosa Beach Police Department.

Cast

* John Bennett Perry as Deputy Theodore Roosevelt "Trap" Applegate III *

Mark Harmon Thomas Mark Harmon (born September 2, 1951) is an American actor, writer, producer, television director and former American football, football player. He is best known for playing the lead role of Leroy Jethro Gibbs on ''NCIS (TV series), NCIS'' ...

as Deputy Dwayne "Thib" Thibideaux (episodes 1–13) *

Joanna Cassidy Joanna Cassidy (born Joanna Virginia Caskey; August 2, 1945) is an American actress and former model. She began working as a model in the 1960s and made her professional acting debut in 1973, appearing in the thriller films ''The Laughing Policem ...

as Deputy Morgan Wainwright (episodes 1–13), the unit's helicopter pilot * Stephan W. Burns as Deputy Brett Cueva (episodes 14–16), who replaced Thib *

Pamela Hensley Pamela Hensley is an American actress and author. Her notable acting roles include Princess Ardala on the 1979–1981 television series '' Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'' and C.J. Parsons on the 1982–1985 television series ''Matt Houston''. S ...

as Deputy Sandy Harper (episodes 14–16), the new pilot of the unit Cassidy and Hensley both had an expert helicopter pilot take over for them in the actual helicopter flight sequences; this regular stunt pilot was Charles 'Chuck' Tamburro who wore a wig to give the appearance of a female pilot.

Matthew Perry Matthew Langford Perry (August 19, 1969 – October 28, 2023) was an American and Canadian actor, comedian, director and screenwriter. He gained international fame for starring as Chandler Bing on the NBC television sitcom ''Friends'' (1994– ...

's first credited role was a small part in the show, where he played a child actor in a 1979 episode.

Cancellation

Harmon and Cassidy left the series when their contracts expired after the first season. Burns and Hensley were brought in to replace them, but the second season (returning mid-season in early 1981 due to an actor's strike) only lasted three episodes before ABC cancelled it due to poor ratings.

Episode list

Season 1 (1979)

Season 2 (1981)

References

External links

* * {{Epguides, id=240Robert
www.240-ROBERT.com
* https://archive.org at archive.org 1979 American television series debuts 1981 American television series endings 1970s American drama television series 1980s American drama television series 1970s American police procedural television series 1980s American police procedural television series American English-language television shows Television series by MGM Television Television shows set in Los Angeles Television series by Filmways American Broadcasting Company television dramas